Billy’s mother is no better either. Billy’s mother does not truly know about motherhood and what is involved in it and appears not take Billy seriously. She disgracefully fails to show Billy any kind of love or support. This is evident when Billy’s mother doesn’t turn up to a meeting with an employment officer at Billy’s school when the parents of the other pupils have all turned up. One other major way that Billy’s mother shows her disregard towards Billy is when Billy comes in crying with his dead bird in his palms, desperately in need of motherly love and emotional and physical soothing: -
“Course I’m bothered. But it’s only a bird. You can get another can’t you?
Billy longs for his father. But there is a very diminutive chance that he will return. His father came home one day to find Bill’s mother on the sofa with another man.
Billy has great memories of his father and the activities that he used to do with him. Billy desires for his family to get back together minus Jud.
Before Billy had discovered Kes, he used to hang out with on the streets with his previous associates Tibby and McDowell and used to get himself in bother. Billy was been in trouble with the police and is doing a paper-round to pay off all the fines that he has been given. But since Kes, Billy has not been in trouble once. This is because he is too busy looking after Kes and has stopped hanging out with Tibby and McDowell.
The bulk of people that are in Billy’s life don’t think much of him. The teachers at Billy’s school especially spurn Billy. Proof of this is when Mr Gryce spots Billy is still standing up, daydreaming, after the rest of the school sat down after prayer and he gives Billy a severe roasting in the midst of the whole school: -
“I’ll thrash you, you irreverent scoundrel”- Gryce
But Mr Gryce appears not to only treat Billy with such verbal abuse, he addresses the pupils stood outside his office to come in by shouting: -
“Come in, you reprobates!”- Gryce
Most other teachers hurl insults towards Billy left, right and centre as well…
“And so did you Casper. Just came out from under a stone.” Mr Crossley
All this abuse has to rub off on Billy. This leaves Billy with very low sense of worth and self-belief. All this neglect could seriously damage a child of Billy’s stature leaving them extremely vulnerable and could eventually drive them to take their own life if such treatment continued for large periods of time.
Although most teachers appear to hate Billy, Mr Farthing does not appear to abide such extreme views towards him. Mr Farthing, Billy’s English teacher raises Billy’s self-esteem and continually praises Billy after hearing his talk on Kes in one of his English lessons. Mr Farthing is genuinely fascinated by Billy’s secret and prudent lifestyle with Kes.
“Right, you can sit down now. That was very good, I enjoyed it, and I’m sure the class did” – Mr Farthing
So much so that he asks to see Kes with Billy. After seeing Billy and Kes in action he labels Billy as a natural with animals.
Billy sees Mr Farthing as a friend and is not afraid to open up to him, and he does after the fight with McDowell in the yard as he provides Billy with a shoulder to cry on. This is very unique as Mr Farthing is the only adult that Billy feels this way about.
I can’t really say that Kes gives Billy the power to revolutionize and turn around his social life, because she doesn’t. But Kes is extremely close to Billy’s heart. Kes gives Billy a sense of satisfaction and achievement. People can look upon Kes and can see the way Kes and see the way she’s been, and with extreme adroit, trained by Billy. Kes gives Billy the will to live another day while others in Billy’s position would have given up on life long ago. Kes is effectively Billy’s best friend and whom he spends most of his spare time with and would have continued to do so after he left school if events wouldn’t have gone the way they have done.
Billy’s Tall Story begins with his mother bringing him breakfast in bed. He has bacon and egg and bread and a ‘big pot of tea’. But in actual fact Billy doesn’t get much breakfast at home, for this reason he has to steal and evade, even his own brother: -
‘Billy bolted it into his mouth, slid off his chair and turned it over as soon as Jud came for him’
And he also steals from his employer, an old newspaper shop owner: -
‘Billy reached out and lifted two bars of chocolate from a display table at the side of the counter’
He even steals from a Milk Float that his sees in the morning on his paper round
Billy even has a secret pocket sewn into the inside of his coat to make stealing easier for him. So there is no wonder that Billy decides to include food in his Tall Story, as it is one of the main needs of a person.
He describes is ideal home in great detail and it is exactly the opposite of his own house. He wishes he had carpet on the stairs and in the hall. This must mean that Billy doesn’t already have carpet in these places.
Also in Billy’s Tall Story, he talks about his older half-brother Jud. He mentions that when he comes downstairs, he asks his mother where Jud was and she tells him that he has gone to join the army and puts him at ease by telling him how his father has returned once again. This shows us that Billy doesn’t like Jud, so much so that he would throw him out of his ideal life by sending him to the army. Billy mentions the army for no obvious reason, except for the fact that it is just an excuse to get out of his life. The simple truth is that Billy doesn’t want Jud around. And quite frankly I don’t blame him. Jud makes Billy’s life a living hell. He torments and hurts him physically and mentally in every way that you can imagine. This instance below is a classical example:-
‘He rushed over to the settee and jumped astride Billy, pushing his face into the cushions and forcing one arm up his back in a half-nelson’
And Jud doesn’t take any of Billy’s health hazards into consideration…
“Gi’o’er, Jud, tha breaking my arm!” – Billy
One major part in his tall story is the fact that his father returns. Billy talks about how his mother gives up her job and they all live as one happy family again. He talks about they do what all the other families do, like go to the pictures and have ice cream at the intervals. So in other words, Billy wants everyone to treat him with love and care and look after his well-being.
Billy mentions how he goes to school and all the teachers were good to him and asked him how he was doing at school and patted him on his head. This, quite clearly what Billy expects from his teachers but the mere fact is that they couldn’t care less about him. Billy demands attention and affection from the teachers in the school. Even a “Good Morning, Billy” would not go amidst in Billy’s books.
He also mentions that when he comes home from school, he has chips and beans for his tea. Well, it’s no secret that even the poorest people can afford chips and beans for their tea. So why has Billy included this in his Tall Story? Bill quite clearly doesn’t get even the basic meals and this causes him to long for these things.
Overall, Billy’s Tall Story is very basic. It includes all the things that other kids take for granted. He longs for his father to return, while kids who have a father to look up to don’t even think about. He asks for bare necessities such as a carpet in his house to walk on, which again, most people wrongly take for granted, and quite plainly, if Billy had these basic provisions it would boost is confidence to the highest degree.
He is, without a doubt, gravely displeased with his present lodgings. He longs to live in a bigger house to live in. He sees a house in an area called Moors Edge, where he does his daily newspaper round. He couldn’t make the fact that he doesn’t want his half-brother Jud around any clearer.
He just wants all the things that normal kids his age have, nothing more. He wants a loving family who think the world of him and show it. He wants his teachers to treat him right and not to lash out at him all the time. He wants a pleasant home to live. He wants proper food on the table and wants to be able to give up stealing which he did to solely survive.
Reading about Billy’s daily lifestyle and how it differs from the majority of the population almost brings a tear to they eye.
